Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of 11 players. It is played by approximately 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to outscore the opposition by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal. The team with the higher number of goals wins the game.
Futsal is a ball sport played on a hard court, smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football.
Indoor soccer or arena soccer, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in a walled indoor arena. Indoor soccer, as it is most often known in the United States and Canada, was originally developed in these two countries as a way to play soccer during the winter months, when snow would make outdoor play difficult. In those countries, gymnasiums are adapted for indoor soccer play. In other countries the game is played in either indoor or outdoor arenas surrounded by walls, and is referred to by different names.
The Fiji national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
The Kiribati national football team is the national men's football team of Kiribati and is controlled by the Kiribati Islands Football Association. Kiribati is not a member of FIFA but is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and is therefore not eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup but may enter the OFC Nations Cup. It became a provisional member of the N.F.-Board on 10 December 2005.
Five-a-side football is a variation of association football, in which each team fields five players. Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are played indoors, or outdoors on artificial grass pitches that may be enclosed within a barrier or "cage" to prevent the ball from leaving the playing area and keep the game constantly flowing.
A football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural turf or artificial turf, although amateur and recreational teams often play on dirt fields. Artificial surfaces must be green in colour.
Roy Krishna is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a striker and captain for both ATK Mohun Bagan in the Indian Super League and the Fiji national team.
The 2009 OFC Futsal Championship was the sixth edition of the main international futsal tournament of the Oceanian region. It took place from July 7 to July 11, 2009, and was hosted by Fiji, which had also hosted the previous edition. The number of participating teams dropped from seven to just four, as French Polynesia, New Zealand and Tuvalu failed to return from the previous year's competition. Previously, the Championship had been held every four years; the 2009 edition marked the beginning of an annual tournament.
Sport is an important part of Solomon Islands culture dating back to the early colonial period. Cricket, Australian rules football, rugby union and horse racing are among the earliest organised sports in the Solomon Islands. Sport has shaped the Solomon Islands national identity through events. Association football is the most popular sport in the country.
The Bhutan national futsal team represents Bhutan in men's international futsal. The team is controlled by the governing body of football and futsal in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation. Futsal used to be very much in an embryonic stage of development in Bhutan, with the team only having played eight competitive matches. A national team was selected at very short notice for the fourth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Incheon, Korea, in 2013. In their first game, they were soundly beaten 29–1 by Thailand, despite scoring through Dawa Dhendup in the first minute. The team is currently ranked 150th and last in the world futsal rankings. By establishing National League and investing in futsal infrastructure, conditions have significantly improved since then.
The 2012–13 Iranian Futsal 1st Division will be divided into two phases.
The New Caledonia national under-17 football team is the national U-17 team of New Caledonia and is controlled by the New Caledonian Football Federation.
Comparison of association football (football/soccer) and rugby union (rugby/rugger) is possible because of the games' similarities and shared origins.
The 2016 CONCACAF Futsal Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Futsal Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship organised by CONCACAF for the men's national teams of the North, Central American and Caribbean region. The tournament was held in San José, Costa Rica between 8–14 May 2016. A total of eight teams played in the tournament.
Futsal began in the 1930s in South America as a version of association football, taking elements of its parent game into an indoor format so players could still play during inclement weather. Over the years, both sports have developed, creating a situation where the two sports share common traits while also hosting various differences.
The futsal competition at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics was held from 7 to 18 October. At Tecnópolis and the CeNARD, the first one located in Villa Martelli, and the second one in Buenos Aires. There are two tournaments, one for boys and one for girls.
Jovica Milijić is a Serbian-born Maltese futsal player, currently playing for Valletta, the reigning champions of Maltese Futsal League. In 2017 he won the Malta Football Association's futsal player of the year.
The 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup qualification tournament was a football competition that took place from 24 to 30 August 2018 in Lautoka, Fiji to determine the final women's national team which joined the seven automatically qualified teams in the 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup final tournament in New Caledonia.
The 2020 AFC Futsal Championship will be the 16th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship, the biennial international futsal championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the men's national teams of Asia. A total of 16 teams will take part in the tournament.
